cole and bob corker and john cornen have said we ought to give on the tax cuts of people under 250,000 is they know that's where the thing is going to end up unless they cut some deal and bring their caucus along on some higher threshold. the president offered 400,000. they could get that. they could probably get 500,000. >> go ahead, bob. >> i was going to say now is the time when we really find out whether republican leadership is an oxymoron. we not only have to rely on john boehner having enough leadership and guts and gumption to put something on the floor his republicans are not going to vote for, but we also have to agree to go through with a bill before the senate that is basically what the president wants so it can put pressure on the republicans and the house. >> he did it in 2011 on the debt limit. >> yes, that's right. that's what people are hoping for. >> there's something fascinating to all of this. ben bernanke gave this situation the name fiscal cliff which sounds very dramatic and very scary. but what it is is an act of congress that they actually voted for. 174 republ